Southern Scratch Biscuits

[Davy]

My father taught me, and he taught my mother and sister too, how to make scratch biscuits. My grandmother of course taught him, and his father before, etc.

Self-rising flour (about 2 to 3 sifted cups)
Crisco shortening, or some type of lard 2 heaping TBSP
Buttermilk (can use milk instead, buttermilk's best)
cookie sheet

1. pre-heat oven to 350 -375 degrees F.
2. in mix bowl, sift the flour into the bowl
3. add 2 heaping tablespoons of lard into the flour. I was taught to use my fingers to cut the shortening into the flour. You can just use the tablespoon instead too. But it's important to get the 'feel' of the mixture once the right amount of shortening is cut into the flour. If too much shortening, the biscuits will fall apart and be heavy. If not enough shortening, the biscuits will taste too doughy.
4. once the shortening & flour mix is ready, start adding buttermilk little by little. You want the mix to be very sticky, gooey, just a little wet feeling, because once you pat out the dough more flour is going to be added in it from the counter surface flour.
5. with wax paper spread on a counter, or just bare, clean kitchen counter, sprinkle a light layer of flour over the counter where you'll work the dough. Rake out the dough onto the counter.
6. with a very light coat of flour on your hands, press out the dough till about 3/4" thick, then fold the dough over upon itself. Then press out the dough again to about 3/4" thick. With a glass or biscuit cutter, cut out the biscuits and place on a well greased cooking sheet.
7. with leftover pieces of dough, put them all together and mash out again to 3/4" thick, and cut more biscuits.
8. bake until tops are brown. (if you want smooth biscuit tops, can either apply melted butter on them before baking, or you can heat a well greased biscuit pan with shortening, pull it out of the oven, and place the biscuits on the hot thin layer of pan grease, then turn them over, then bake.)
9. you can also bypass the press out dough stage and with a large spoon just 'drop' the biscuit dough onto the baking pan and bake.

 

[Davy]

The spoon drop method works well with a cast iron Dutch Oven over a campfire. Campfire biscuits, ah.... nothing like it. Cooking over a real fire just makes everything taste better.